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Sukkot, 5778 And The Rising Sun
One astronomical unit is the average distance between the Earth and the Sun. It is a convenient unit to use when expressing large distances within the solar system.
Because of the Earth's elliptical orbit around the sun, this distance varies depending on the time of the year:
- average distance from earth to sun = 149,597,870.7 km (about 93 million miles) = 1 astronomical unit (au)
Because of the Earth's elliptical orbit around the sun, this distance varies depending on the time of the year:
Other examples of the astronomical unit's perspective are:
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On the first day of the Jewish festival of Sukkot (Feast of Booths, also known as the Festival of Ingathering) in the year 5778, the distance from the Sun to the Earth will be 149,599,650.2 km (1.000011895 au) for an observer in Jerusalem. This distance can be expressed as a remarkably elegant mathematical equation:
- π /210 x 10¹⁰ = 149,599,650.2 km = 1.000011895 au

The sun (behind the horizon) 45 minutes before sunrise in Jerusalem on the first day of Sukkot, October 5th, 2017 (15th of Tishrei, 5778 on the Hebrew calendar). At this time, the distance from the sun to Jerusalem will be π/210 x 10¹⁰ kilometers. Note the bright morning star (Venus in conjunction with Mars) above the eastern horizon. Starry Night Software (c) 2009 Simulation Curriculum Corporation.
"This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD." Psa 102:18
The Hebrew word for "generation" (Strong's H1755) is dowr (דור) which means, properly, a revolution of time.
- dowr (דור) has a gematria value of 210
- Psa 102:18 is verse #15540 in the Bible
- 15540 = 74 x 210
- Psa 102:18 gives 102 x 18 = 1836
- 1836 has 24 divisors, with an average value of 210
- average (1 2 3 4 6 9 12 17 18 27 34 36 51 54 68 102 108 153 204 306 459 612 918 1836) = 210
"The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever." Psa 37:18
יודע יהוה ימי תמימם ונחלתם לעולם תהיה
420 176 534 530 60 26 90 = 1836
- Psa 37:18 gives 37 x 18 = 666
At the same time, Venus (the bright and morning star) will be in close conjunction with Mars in the constellation Leo above the eastern horizon. This will occur 45 minutes prior to sunrise, and 45 days after the first total solar eclipse in the contiguous U.S.A. since February 26th 1979. The next will be on April 8th 2024, making a total of three total solar eclipses in 45 years.
"I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star." Rev 22:16
The next time the sun will be this same distance from Jerusalem will be on April 4 2018, or 19 Nisan 5778 on the Hebrew calendar, which is the 5th day of Pesach (Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread). The variability of the Earth-Sun distance can be seen in this time check for an observer in Jerusalem:
At the time of day when Venus is in full conjunction with Mars (3.35pm Jerusalem time), their elongation to the sun will be 23.4⁰ which is the same angle as the Earth's axial tilt.
- The Hebrew word for "man" (אדם) has a gematria value of 45
"I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star." Rev 22:16
- Rev 22:16 gives 22 x 16 = 352
- The Hebrew word for "return" (משיב) has a gematria value of 352
The next time the sun will be this same distance from Jerusalem will be on April 4 2018, or 19 Nisan 5778 on the Hebrew calendar, which is the 5th day of Pesach (Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread). The variability of the Earth-Sun distance can be seen in this time check for an observer in Jerusalem:
- 6:49:52 - 1.000012252 au
- 6:50:52 - 1.000011895 au
- 6:51:52- 1.000011541 au
- 6:50:52 Jerusalem Time (Sydney) - 0.999968514 au
- 6:50:52 (Jerusalem) - 1.000011895 au
- 6:50:52 Jerusalem Time (New York) - 1.000034944 au
At the time of day when Venus is in full conjunction with Mars (3.35pm Jerusalem time), their elongation to the sun will be 23.4⁰ which is the same angle as the Earth's axial tilt.
The Year of Awe
In addition to its astronomical significance (see above), the number 234 is ominous as being the product of chapter and verse of the famous mystery from the Book of Revelation:
"Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six." Rev 13:18
Counting back 234 years from 2017, we arrive at the year 1783. This year was known as Annus Mirabilis (Year of Awe), and for very good reason. On February 5th, southern Italy's Calabria region was struck by the first of a series of five strong earthquakes (all of magnitude 5.9 or higher), which together claimed at least 32,000 lives.
The first Calabrian quake (magnitude 7.0) claimed 25,000 casualties. The ground shaking near the epicenter was so intense it knocked people off their feet and uprooted trees. Many of the terrified residents sought refuge on the Marina Grande beach, with disastrous consequences. The second quake (magnitude 6.2) caused a landslide into the sea following a major collapse of Monte Pací (Mountain of Peace). The landslide precipitated a tsunami with a run up as high as 15 meters, which killed 1,500 people and encroached 200 meters inland.
"Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six." Rev 13:18
- 13 x 18 = 234
- 234 + 432 = 666
Counting back 234 years from 2017, we arrive at the year 1783. This year was known as Annus Mirabilis (Year of Awe), and for very good reason. On February 5th, southern Italy's Calabria region was struck by the first of a series of five strong earthquakes (all of magnitude 5.9 or higher), which together claimed at least 32,000 lives.
The first Calabrian quake (magnitude 7.0) claimed 25,000 casualties. The ground shaking near the epicenter was so intense it knocked people off their feet and uprooted trees. Many of the terrified residents sought refuge on the Marina Grande beach, with disastrous consequences. The second quake (magnitude 6.2) caused a landslide into the sea following a major collapse of Monte Pací (Mountain of Peace). The landslide precipitated a tsunami with a run up as high as 15 meters, which killed 1,500 people and encroached 200 meters inland.
"Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done." Mat 21:21
- 21 x 21 = 441
- the gematria value of אמת (emeth, meaning "truth") is 441
- Jesus' first word αμην ("verily") means "of a truth" when used at the beginning of a discourse (Strongs G281)
In Japan, the Mount Asama volcano erupted for a period of three months commencing on May 9th, 1783. The volcano was one of the largest and most destructive in Japan in the last 1,000 years, sending its plume of ash so high that the sunlight was blocked over much of northern Japan for the next few months. It exacerbated the Great Tenmei Famine, resulting in food shortages for another 4-5 years and a population decline of almost a million people. Another 1,400 people were killed as a direct effect of the volcano.
In India, the Chalisa famine of 1783, which followed unusual El Nino events, resulted in as many as 11 million deaths. In contrast to the cooling over Northern Hemisphere land masses, computer simulations showed the weakening monsoon led to an area of significant warming of 1 to 2 degrees Celsius over the Sahel of Africa, southern Arabian Peninsula, and India in the summer of 1783. The researchers believe the weaker than normal monsoon reduced the cloud cover in the region, allowing more of the sun's energy to reach the surface, raising temperatures and further worsening drought conditions.
In late February of 1783, a submarine eruption off the southwest coast of Iceland produced a new island "Nýey" that disappeared shortly afterwards. On the night of August 18th, the 1783 Great Meteor lit up the skies over the British Isles before breaking up over south-western France or northern Italy. A letter from Whitby published in the London Chronicle spoke of “an extraordinary meteor…whose lustre almost equalled the sun.” Another observer said that the “whole horizon was illuminated; so that the smallest object might have been seen on the ground.”
As dreadful as these events were, it was the eruption of the Laki volcano in the south of Iceland (known locally as the Skaftár Fires) that had the most profound effect on world history. For 8 months commencing on June 8th 1783, the Laki fissure erupted into a lava flow that eventually totaled 14.7 cubic kilometers of basalt. The rate of lava flow was exceptionally high, traveling as much as 15 kilometers a day with a flow rate of up to 8,500 m³/sec - more than the average discharge rate of the Ohio River (the largest tributary by volume of the Mississippi River), but in basaltic laval form. Some of the explosive components of the eruption produced plumes that reached 15 km (~50,000 feet) while lava fountains were 800-1400 meters tall.
Reverend Jón Steingrímsson, who became a legendary figure among Icelanders for his actions during and after the eruption, had this eyewitness account:
"First the ground swelled up with tremendous howling, then suddenly a cry shattered it into pieces and exposing {the earth´s] guts, like an animal tearing apart its prey. From the smallest holes flames and fire erupted. Great blocks of rocks and pieces of grass were thrown high into the air and in indescribable heights, from time to time strong thunders, flashes', fountains of sand , lightening [?] and dense smoke occurred... Earth trembled incessantly. …how terrible it was to see, such signs of an angry god...[now] it was time to confess to the lord."
Reverend Steingrímsson became known as the Pastor of the Fire, after performing what appeared to be a miracle one Sunday in July, 1783. A branch from the lava flow threatened to destroy his church, but Reverend Jón decided to continue the service regardless. During his preaching of what has become known as the Mass of Fire, after passionate prayers and calls to God the lava branch stopped and the church was saved.
The area around the Laki fissure was wet and swampy, and the combination of hot lava and water is usually explosive. The volume of steam is eight times that of water, and this sudden expansion has obvious explosive consequences. The Laki lava flow was different. At one point, the flood was interrupted by a dam blockage which resulted in a backflow which moved at a glacial pace (centimeters per second). Consequently, the slow moving lava heated the water more gently, forming spires which remained when the dam broke and the blockage was cleared. These pillars, which now dot the Laki landscape, have never before been observed on land. They have only ever been seen following oceanic eruptions at depths of 2 miles. The immense pressure at this depth counteracts the explosive force of the water and lava combination.
As damaging as the lava flood was, the real damage from the Laki Eruption was caused by the discharge of toxic gases into the atmosphere. Clouds of poisonous hydrofluoric acid and sulfur dioxide compounds, together with 8 tonnes of deadly fluoride (from the Latin fluere meaning to flow), killed over 50% of Iceland's livestock population, leading to a famine that killed approximately 23% of Iceland's human population. To again turn to Reverend Steingrímsson:
"This past week, and the two prior to it, more poison fell from the sky than words can describe: ash, volcanic hairs, rain full of sulfur and saltpeter, all of it mixed with sand. The snouts, nostrils, and feet of livestock grazing or walking on the grass turned bright yellow and raw. All water went tepid and light blue in color and gravel slides turned gray. All the earth's plants burned, withered and turned gray, one after another, as the fire increased and neared the settlements."
An estimated 120 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide (SO₂) was ejected into the atmosphere. By comparison, the amount of SO₂ from the Asama eruption in 1783 was 0.3 million tonnes, or a quarter of one percent of the Laki emission. Laki emitted seven times as much SO₂ as the 1990 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines (famous for delaying global warming for several years).
"This past week, and the two prior to it, more poison fell from the sky than words can describe: ash, volcanic hairs, rain full of sulfur and saltpeter, all of it mixed with sand. The snouts, nostrils, and feet of livestock grazing or walking on the grass turned bright yellow and raw. All water went tepid and light blue in color and gravel slides turned gray. All the earth's plants burned, withered and turned gray, one after another, as the fire increased and neared the settlements."
An estimated 120 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide (SO₂) was ejected into the atmosphere. By comparison, the amount of SO₂ from the Asama eruption in 1783 was 0.3 million tonnes, or a quarter of one percent of the Laki emission. Laki emitted seven times as much SO₂ as the 1990 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines (famous for delaying global warming for several years).
The deadly plume, aided by unusual weather conditions, made its way over Europe over the following weeks. The fog was so thick that boats stayed in port, unable to navigate, and the sun was described as "blood coloured". The alarmed populace were unaware of any connection with volcanic activity, and their reaction is summed up by these words from the poet Willian Cowper: "So long in a country not subject to fogs, we have been cover'd with one of the thickest I remember. We never see the sun but shorn of his beams, the trees are scarce discernible at a mile's distance, he sets with the face of a red hot salamander and rises with the same complexion."
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Cowper continued: "Some fear to go to bed, expecting an Earthquake," he wrote. "Some declare that he [the sun] neither rises nor sets where he did, and assert with great confidence that the day of Judgement is at hand." The worst effected in England were the farm workers who were the most exposed. Many died (the death toll in Britain during the summer of 1783 is estimated at 23,000) and there were insufficient survivors to gather the harvest. Said Cowper: "Such multitudes are indisposed by fevers in this country, that farmers have with difficulty gathered in their harvest, the labourers having been almost every day carried out of the field incapable of work and many die."
The Laki struck at a time when supernatural beliefs were beginning to give way to ideas of human progress brought by the Enlightenment. The still unexplained forces of nature had people grasping for answers. Gilbert White, writing in 1787, was to remember the "amazing and portentous" summer of 1783 as "full of horrible phaenomena [...] alarming meteors and tremendous thunder-storms that affrighted and distressed the different counties of this kingdom". But it was perhaps the observations of the Reverend John Wesley which put the drama in context. When he visited Oxfordshire in 1783 he witnessed a combination of summer thunderstorms and thick fog which left inhabitants convinced the end of the world was nigh. He wrote that: "Those that were asleep in the town were waked and many thought the day of judgment had come." Throughout the day the panic intensified. "Men, women and children flocked out of their houses and kneeled down together in the streets." At Sunday service Wesley reported a full church, "a sight never seen before."
To exacerbate the effects of the poisonous atmosphere, July 1783 is the equal warmest month in 300 years of records for the UK. It was only in the autumn that the fog finally lifted. But soon the country was beset by an even worse problem - the most severe winter for 250 years, caused by the build-up of heat absorbing sulphur dioxide in the stratosphere. The average temperature for January 1784 was –0.6°C, over 3°C below the average. Many thousands more died from the extreme cold and the effects of starvation.
The disastrous effects of the Laki eruption extended throughout Europe, North America and northern Africa. In the eastern United States, the average winter temperature in 1783-4 was 4.8°C below average. The St Lawrence river froze for a dozen miles inland. In Charleston, South Carolina, the harbour froze hard enough to skate on. Most extraordinary of all, ice floes floated down the Mississippi, past New Orleans and out into the Gulf of Mexico. Previous studies of tree ring data had shown that the summer of 1784 was the coldest for 400 years in northwest Alaska and the coldest for 500 to 600 years in Siberia. The monsoon rains that Nile catchment were interrupted by the bizarre weather patterns, resulting in record low water levels in 1783 and 1784. In the resulting famine, about 17% of the Nile valley population are thought to have perished.
Many historians say that the famine caused by the Laki eruption was a major motivating factor leading up to the French Revolution. Estimates are that 5% of the population in France died during the summer of 1783.
The Laki struck at a time when supernatural beliefs were beginning to give way to ideas of human progress brought by the Enlightenment. The still unexplained forces of nature had people grasping for answers. Gilbert White, writing in 1787, was to remember the "amazing and portentous" summer of 1783 as "full of horrible phaenomena [...] alarming meteors and tremendous thunder-storms that affrighted and distressed the different counties of this kingdom". But it was perhaps the observations of the Reverend John Wesley which put the drama in context. When he visited Oxfordshire in 1783 he witnessed a combination of summer thunderstorms and thick fog which left inhabitants convinced the end of the world was nigh. He wrote that: "Those that were asleep in the town were waked and many thought the day of judgment had come." Throughout the day the panic intensified. "Men, women and children flocked out of their houses and kneeled down together in the streets." At Sunday service Wesley reported a full church, "a sight never seen before."
To exacerbate the effects of the poisonous atmosphere, July 1783 is the equal warmest month in 300 years of records for the UK. It was only in the autumn that the fog finally lifted. But soon the country was beset by an even worse problem - the most severe winter for 250 years, caused by the build-up of heat absorbing sulphur dioxide in the stratosphere. The average temperature for January 1784 was –0.6°C, over 3°C below the average. Many thousands more died from the extreme cold and the effects of starvation.
The disastrous effects of the Laki eruption extended throughout Europe, North America and northern Africa. In the eastern United States, the average winter temperature in 1783-4 was 4.8°C below average. The St Lawrence river froze for a dozen miles inland. In Charleston, South Carolina, the harbour froze hard enough to skate on. Most extraordinary of all, ice floes floated down the Mississippi, past New Orleans and out into the Gulf of Mexico. Previous studies of tree ring data had shown that the summer of 1784 was the coldest for 400 years in northwest Alaska and the coldest for 500 to 600 years in Siberia. The monsoon rains that Nile catchment were interrupted by the bizarre weather patterns, resulting in record low water levels in 1783 and 1784. In the resulting famine, about 17% of the Nile valley population are thought to have perished.
Many historians say that the famine caused by the Laki eruption was a major motivating factor leading up to the French Revolution. Estimates are that 5% of the population in France died during the summer of 1783.
Revolution In The Air
The year 1783 also saw an end to hostilities in the eight years long American Revolutionary War. Remarkably, just as the Laki Eruption of 1783 had lasted exactly 8 months, the American Revolutionary War hostilities spanned exactly 8 years. The first shot was fired just as the sun was rising at Lexington.
By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.
Concord Hymn, Ralph Waldo Emerson
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.
Concord Hymn, Ralph Waldo Emerson
On April 18, 1783, George Washington issued General Orders to the Continental Army announcing the "Cessation of Hostilities between the United States of America and the King of Great Britain." The orders concluded with: "An extra ration of liquor to be issued to every man tomorrow, to drink Perpetual Peace, Independence and Happiness to the United States of America."
Which leads to a study of the key dates of the Independence of the United States, the Laki Volcanic Eruption and the French Revolution:
❶ American Independence Day = 4th July 1776
❷ Laki Eruption began on 8th June 1783
From ❶ to ❷ = 2530 days = 3⁷ + 7³
From ❷ to 1st day of Sukkot, 5778 = 85,586 days
❷ = 8 June, 1783 = 8 Sivan, 5543 on the Hebrew calendar
Thoughts of revolutions, volcanoes, starvation and eruptions brings to mind the anthem of revolutionaries everywhere - The Internationale:
Which leads to a study of the key dates of the Independence of the United States, the Laki Volcanic Eruption and the French Revolution:
❶ American Independence Day = 4th July 1776
❷ Laki Eruption began on 8th June 1783
From ❶ to ❷ = 2530 days = 3⁷ + 7³
From ❷ to 1st day of Sukkot, 5778 = 85,586 days
- 8 + 5 + 5 + 8 + 6 = 32 (there are 32 paths to wisdom in the Sefer Yetzirah)
- 8 x 5 x 5 x 8 x 6 = 300 x 32
❷ = 8 June, 1783 = 8 Sivan, 5543 on the Hebrew calendar
- 5 x 5 x 4 x 3 = 300
Thoughts of revolutions, volcanoes, starvation and eruptions brings to mind the anthem of revolutionaries everywhere - The Internationale:
Arise, damned of the earth
Arise, prisoners of starvation
Reason thunders in its volcano
This is the eruption of the end
Of the past let us wipe the slate clean
Enslaved masses, arise, arise
The world is about to change its foundation
We are nothing, let us be all
This is the final struggle
Let us group together, and tomorrow
The Internationale
Will be the human race
First verse, The Internationale
Arise, prisoners of starvation
Reason thunders in its volcano
This is the eruption of the end
Of the past let us wipe the slate clean
Enslaved masses, arise, arise
The world is about to change its foundation
We are nothing, let us be all
This is the final struggle
Let us group together, and tomorrow
The Internationale
Will be the human race
First verse, The Internationale
The poem The Internationale was put to music by Pierre de Geyter (1848-1932). Music copyright in France lasts until 70 years after the author's death. However, extra time is added to compensate for World War I (6 yrs 152 days) and World War II (8 yrs 120 days) so 'The Internationale' would be expected to come out of copyright in October, 2017 (Tishri, 5778 on the Hebrew calendar). Pierre de Geyter was born on October 8th (Tishri 14) 1848, on the anniversary of the midpoint of the Laki Eruption. On that day at sundown, the sabbath would commence for the first day of Sukkot.
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International Workers' Day, sometimes called Labour Day, is held every year on May Day (May 1st) the date chosen to commemorate the Haymarket Affair that occurred on May 4, 1886 in Chicago. It is interesting to note that May 1st 2015 marks 888 days prior to the first day of Sukkot, 5778 (October 5th, 2017). 888 is the isopsephia value of Ιησους ("Jesus").
“The day will come when our silence will be more powerful than the voices you are throttling today.”
Inscription, Haymarket Martyrs' Monument. German Waldheim Cemetery, Chicago IL.
“The day will come when our silence will be more powerful than the voices you are throttling today.”
Inscription, Haymarket Martyrs' Monument. German Waldheim Cemetery, Chicago IL.
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